Follow these rules and you'll likely be safe from embarrassment, and won't be caught off-guard when angry folks enter your mentions

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the "Jamie and Stoney" show at 6 a.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen.

The use of social media, much like the use of the Detroit Tigers' bullpen, is an inexact science.

I’ve been an active Twitter user for about decade and have recently tried to wade into Instagram as well. The latter effort hasn’t gone so smoothly because I’m not 21 and I’m not photogenic.

Twitter has been an interesting transformation. What started as a free-flowing exchange of ideas, thoughts, jokes and articles has become more of a mosh pit where people either agree with you or think your a complete moron (with verrrrry little grey area). I’ve learned a lot about how to tweet and, more importantly, NOT to tweet. From my bizarre seat at the intersection of players and the fans that follow them, I have a pretty good sense of what makes a good social media presence and what has the potential to go very poorly.

The Athlete Social Media Manifesto:

Rule 1: Don’t use social media.

Really, what do you have to gain? LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. Do they really enhance their images because they occasionally post on Instagram or tweet? Of course not. No legacies are burnished with social media. I’m sure experts will say the athletes are selling their brand but a triple double in the NBA finals or a four-touchdown performance in the Super Bowl goes a lot further in doing that.

Rule 2: If you’re ever in doubt as to whether or not you’re doing it right or wrong, refer to Rule 1.

Rule 3: If you’re already on Instagram or Twitter, go back and delete any tweet that reflects poorly on you.

This is the lesson that Milwaukee’s Josh Hader and Washington’s Trea Turner have learned over the past few weeks. It’s amazing to me in 2018 that MLB teams don’t have someone in their social media department that can help do a deep social media cleanse before any one of these guys gets to the big leagues. Come to think of it, that’s a job every professional sports team should be filling today. This doesn’t excuse what these guys tweeted. But being dumb and ignorant isn’t a crime. Looking or sounding dumb and ignorant can kill a career quickly and indiscriminately.

Rule 4: Have very, very, very thick skin. I mean, very thick skin.

You might be commenting on your favorite ice cream or posting pictures of your new baby and the response you might get could be more vitriolic than you’d ever imagine. Former Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron recently posted wedding photos on Twitter and got back jokes and barbs from Lions fans when all he was probably expecting was congratulations. Along those lines, don’t go on social media after a big loss or a big mistake in the game. This isn’t little league and you won’t get too many, “You’ll get ‘em next time!”

Rule 5: If you want to tackle political issues, make sure you have the facts on your side. And make sure you have really, really, really thick skin.

“Stick to Sports” and “Stay in your lane!” will litter your timeline if you stray too far from what social media decides is your norm. Look at Colin Kaepernick. In the public’s mind, he’s a quarterback, not an agent of political change. And NFL teams won’t touch him not because he can’t play the game but because they don’t want to deal with the backlash. Even Brady, pretty much untouchable in New England, tried to distance himself from the fact he had a Make America Great Again hat because he knew some of his fans didn’t agree with him. This is a sticky one. I’m fully in favor of all people expressing how they feel and I fear sports has gotten too vanilla because athletes are afraid to speak their mind. But the reality is most treat politics like the electric rail on a subway track and they’re smart to do it.

Rule 6: Before you post anything on any platform, think about it. Think about it again. And think about what you stand to gain from it.

This is good advice for everyone, not just athletes. I’ve sat and stared at a tweet for more than a few seconds and deleted it. Normally, if you have to think about it for that long of a time, you’re better off not posting it.

I follow plenty of athletes on Twitter and some of the accounts are insightful, fun and purposeful. Justin Verlander has used Twitter to raise money for wounded warriors and he has also used it to take strong stands against some of the issues in baseball. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid is hilarious on social media and seems more than ready to take whatever blowback comes from some of his tweets. (Although, he’s still in the honeymoon phase of his career. If Philly can’t get out of the second round of the playoffs as “The Process” continues, watch out.) Jim Harbaugh has a Twitter account a lot like his personality — sometimes pointed, sometimes confounding, always interesting — and has used it to great fanfare even when I’m not sure he intends to.

As someone who follows sports closely, I’d like it if all athletes used all social media to the fullest extent.